Izumi's Mistake
by Celonhael
Summary: Sesshomaru and InuYasha meet someone who can show them Izumi's past.
1. Chapter 1

**_It is here in my stories that InuYasha discovered that somehow, Naraku has returned. There is also a new Kageri wandering about. I've looked and looked, but cannot find that story. I apologise. If I can find it, I will post it._**

It was a drizzly, overcast day. The rain came fitfully in fits and spurts, soaking everything to the bone, and then stopping long enough for everyone to think it was over, and then it would rain again. It was surprisingly chilly this day, too, which was actually a relief to the locals. The heat wave seemed to have passed, and now the crops would be watered, and the people could relax in the cool air.  
InuYasha was off by himself, munching on an apple, but he wasn't very hungry.  
His mind was in turmoil.  
Naraku.  
Alive.  
Back.  
His stomach growled in complaint as he swallowed wrong, the food sliding down slowly and aching. How could Naraku be back? They had killed him. He had been gone for months! Everything had been over....they had won!  
And now....back.  
The only satisfaction he got out of any of it was that Naraku no longer seemed to be in control. He was obviously second to Neith, and probably second to _all_ the Shadelings as well. That one look of pure rage on his face was almost worth it to have him back.  
Almost.  
Damnit, it wasn't fair! Naraku had made their lives utter hell while he had been alive, and they had finally overcome him, had finally defeated him. And now he was back?  
_Won't the bastard ever die?_  
And now this new Kageri. BloodStar. _That_ was _just_ what they needed, another Kageri around. Someone else to make him feel utterly useless.  
At least DarkWind seemed able to deal with him....  
But that meant having to actually rely on DarkWind, which made InuYasha's teeth ache.  
An image suddenly flashed through his head, of her face.  
Izumi.  
She had reacted stronger than he had expected her to, when he yelled at her. He had thought she'd get angry at him, the way Kagome did. He had been upset, furious that Naraku was back, and he retreated into his old ways of wanting to deal with it by fighting. Let off some steam by yelling at someone, having them yell back, until he felt drained and oddly better. Only Izumi hadn't gotten angry with him at all. She had taken what he said, and apologised....and left.  
Pale, and quiet, and shaken.  
He still remembered the fury with which Mikado had faced him, almost nose-to-nose, warning him to _never_ speak to Izumi in that way again....and she had said something weird. Something strange.  
..._"You have no idea what she has suffered over you!"_  
_What did she mean by that? Over **me**? How could she have suffered over me? She only **met** me a short while ago._  
He sighed, glancing over his shoulder.  
The others were all sitting together under the tarp Miroku had spread out, sitting around a pathethic little fire, talking lowly amongst themselves. He had left them to be alone, to try and understand what had happened.  
They were all upset at Naraku's return as well.  
Especially Miroku.  
InuYasha knew that although the monk didn't say anything, he was worried about the cursed hole in his hand. Now that Naraku had returned, would the WindTunnel begin to grow again? Would it devour him now, as it had always threatened to do in the past?  
InuYasha wished Izumi were there to ask....and then felt that strange twist in his guts again when he thought of how she looked.  
He sighed.  
_I need to get up and walk,_ he thought, _go for a run. It'll clear my head._  
He stood up.  
_Besides....it's about that time anyway. I have to go...._

He ran through the forest, feeling the wet grass soak his hakama, the cuffs clinging to his ankles.  
Sometimes when he was upset, he just ran, letting physical movement burn off whatever stress was inside him. The feel of the wind against his hair, on his ears, against his face, would be like a tonic that would work deep inside him.  
He let his heart lead him, knowing where he was going, but not in that much of a hurry to get there. It wouldn't leave, after all, the place he was going. And sometimes staying at that place wasn't exactly something that made him happy either. But it was a duty he felt inside.  
She had given so much for him. The very least he could do was visit regularly.  
Just about the time his legs were starting to ache, after a good hour's run, and his chest was heaving, and there was a light sheen of sweat on his body, he stepped from the forest into the little clearing.  
And stopped.  
The grass here had been cleared away. The weeds pulled up. The dust and dirt that naturally accumulated here had been brushed away.  
Someone had been here.  
He walked cautiously towards his mother's gravemarker, and looked it over. There was no damage done here, at least. Everything seemed to be in perfect order. But InuYasha himself was usually the one who tended his mother's grave.  
No one else would.  
He cast around, but could find no scent. Whoever had been here had been gone long enough to leave little scent, and the rain had probably washed away what little was left.  
There were no marks in the wet grass either, other than his own, so no one had been here since the rain that morning.  
InuYasha took off his haori and spread it on the ground beside his mother's grave, and sat on it, looking at the gravemarker.  
Hesitantly, he reached out and touched it with his fingertips.  
"Mother. Who was here?"  
Only a bird sang in the trees.  
He sighed.  
As always, he remembered the night she had died. How she had sent him away for safety, into the woods to hide, and when he had come back, she had been gone. There was no sign of her body, but there was her bloody gown, and even as a child he had known what had happened.  
They had killed her.  
The villagers.  
InuYasha often thought that if he had been an adult at that time, he very well might have gone in and slaughtered all the villagers. They had always hated him, and had looked at her like some monster for giving birth to him.  
Worse, for _loving_ him.  
The grief he had felt as a child, the confusion, and the sense of great loss, started to come back to him, but he cleared his throat and pushed it away.  
He had hidden in the forest that night, afraid to go back. Knowing if they killed his mother, they would certainly kill him. But he had cried all night, longing for her arms, for her voice, her smile, her scent. But even then, he knew that death was forever. For a long time he lay there, hoping he would die too. Because then he would be with her again.  
But his body had been a traitor, and eventually he had become hungry, and against his emotions he had gone out and stolen some food. He had cried while he ate it, ashamed he didn't have the strength to starve to be with her....but as time passed, he knew she would want him to go on. To survive, by whatever means necessary, and so he had.  
It had been about a week later that he had found her grave. Someone had buried her, with a lovely gravemarker, under a beautiful tree. He never knew who had done it, and he ached to know, because someone had cared enough to do that much at least. But he had never known.  
Three times a year he came back here to tend her grave.  
Only this time someone had beat him to it.  
For a split second he feared it was Sesshomaru, come here for some unknown, foul reason....but he quickly dismissed that idea. Sesshomaru would not have tidied her grave.  
Hours passed. He wasn't sure what to say, because most of his time here was usually taken up with cleaning up the site. He talked to her, as he usually did, telling her what was going on in his life. Wondering what she would have made of it all.  
He was just getting ready to leave, when a shadow fell over him, and he looked up, startled.  
It was that same strange creature that had spoken to him just before Naraku had shown up; the sexless creature with no hair and sharp pointy teeth.  
InuYasha stood up, furious that this thing had come here to his mother's grave.  
He put his hand on the hilt of his blade, "What are you doing here?"  
"I thought to check up on you. See how you were doing." He looked over InuYasha's shoulder, "Your mother's grave?"  
InuYasha tightened his grip, "You're not welcome here. Get lost."  
"Not welcome?" Kegasu seemed surprised, "Surely you know I cannot harm your mother. She is beyond my reach."  
"You helped Neith and Naraku take me by surprise."  
Kegasu grimaced, "For which I apologise. I did not mean for that to happen."  
"I didn't see you falling over yourself to help."  
"I cannot get so quickly involved," Kegasu said.  
"You sound like Izumi," InuYasha grumbled.  
"Izumi," Kegasu smiled, "You flatter me. Isn't she interesting? Such mysteries. Wouldn't you like to know more about her?"  
InuYasha frowned, "What the hell are you talking about?"  
"I told you," Kegasu said, "I can show you things. Show you the past. The present. Surely there are things about the great Izumi you would love to know?"  
InuYasha gazed at Kegasu cautiously. It seemed tricky, for some reason. And it felt wrong, somehow, to spy on someone like that. But....what _had_ Mikado meant?  
"And what do you want in return?"  
Kegasu smiled, "Your blood."  
"My...blood?"  
"Yes. Just a taste, nothing more. I need your blood, to read your past."  
"I'm not following," InuYasha tightened his grip on his sword again.  
"Each of us carries our ancestor's memories within us, you see. Though we cannot access them. But I can. I can read the lives of your ancestors, and then show you what you need to see."  
"And you need to drink blood," the hanyou confirmed.  
"Yes."  
InuYasha sighed. Why was it always blood.  
"Mikado said something about Izumi suffering for me. I want to know what the hell she meant by that."  
"No no no! You should not do this!" came a small, piping voice.  
Startled, InuYasha looked up to see a small figure in a tree just above his head. It was tiny, apparently a woman, and dressed in what looked like leaves. As he stared, the tiny figure jumped down from the tree, and walked to InuYasha. She barely came up to his knee.  
"You should not trust Kegasu!" the tiny voice piped.  
"What the hell are you?!" InuYasha asked.  
"Forest Spirit," the tiny woman said, and she looked sternly at him, "Kegasu is not to be trusted!"  
InuYasha glanced at Kegasu, but spoke to the little woman, "What, he lies?"  
"No. He tells the truth. But that is how he often hurts. Kegasu only does this to try and cause pain. Some things are better if you do not know!"  
Kegasu smiled innocently at InuYasha.  
InuYasha looked down at the little woman, "What's your name?"  
"Sakura."  
"Sakura. Is Kegasu likely to trick me or something?"  
"Noooo..."  
"Then I'll do it," he said, turning to Kegasu, "I suppose you have to....suck my blood directly or something?"  
"Yes."  
InuYasha snorted, "Figured. Fine. Get on with it. But I warn you....I'll have my blade to your guts if you think on attacking me."  
Kegasu smiled again, "I would not do such a thing."  
The creature stepped forward, reaching for the hanyou.

InuYasha shuddered as the creature stepped back. Kegasu had taken the blood directly from his neck, and he felt oddly soiled, like there had been a huge leech on him. All the while the thing had taken his blood, InuYasha had kept his bladetip to the creature's stomach, so that one false move would run Kegasu through. The little spirit, Sakura, with her bright green hair and eyes, had run around them both, worriedly wringing her hands, until Kegasu had stepped back, InuYasha's red blood on his lips.  
Kegasu licked his lips, smiling, "Delicious."  
Inuyasha tried not to shudder a second time, seeing his blood smearing Kegasu's lips. He put a hand to his neck to stop the bleeding, and spoke firmly.  
"Now, show me what the hell Mikado was talking about."  
Kegasu smiled, "Yes. You want to see Izumi's mistake."  
InuYasha frowned, "Izumi's mistake?"  
Kegasu smiled.  
It was at that moment, that another figure stepped from the forest, tall and silver and firm.  
InuYasha blinked at him, startled to see Sesshomaru there. He tightened his grip on his sword, "You have no business here, Sesshomaru!" he snarled.  
Kegasu looked at Sesshomaru, confused.  
Myoga hopped from Sesshomaru's shoulder to InuYasha's "My Lord, what are you doing here?"  
"What's _he_ doing here?"  
"That is none of your concern, InuYasha," Sesshomaru said coldly. He looked at Kegasu, "I have come to accept your offer."  
Kegasu looked confused for a second, then smiled, "Excellent!"  
"Hold on," InuYasha said, "I was here first, Kegasu!"  
"No matter," Kegasu smiled, "For you have both come for the same thing. To see Izumi's mistake."  
Sesshomaru frowned slightly, "Mistake?"  
Myoga hopped up and down on InuYasha's shoulder, "Master! You haven't given Kegasu some of your blood, have you?"  
"Yes," InuYasha snarled, "And what are you doing with him?"  
"I....was kidnapped..."  
"What?"  
Kegasu spoke, "Are you willing to pay the bloodprice, Sesshomaru?"  
Sesshomaru nodded. Kegasu started forward, but Sesshomaru put up a hand to stop him, his golden gaze cold.  
"You must pay," Kegasu whined.  
Sesshomaru reached into his shirt, and pulled out a small vial, filled with a dark red liquid.  
"Do you honestly think?" he asked cooly, "That I would allow such as you to touch me?"  
He tossed the vial to Kegasu, who caught it.  
"This isn't how it's usually done," Kegasu said sulkily.  
"Then give it back," Sesshomaru said, "And I will take your head, and be done with all this."  
Almost pouting, Kegasu unstoppered the vial, and tipped it to his mouth. Sesshomaru looked at InuYasha, saw the hanyou's hand clapped to his neck to stop the bleeding, and looked away, disgusted.  
Kegasu licked his lips again, sighing.  
"Demon blood is so rich, so thick..."  
The Forest Spirit sighed sadly. Myoga and Sesshomaru ignored her.  
"Now then," Kegasu said, "I shall show you what you both wish to see. You both seek to know the Handmaiden Izumi. To understand her. I will take you to her past, so that you may see how her fate is tied into both of yours. Izumi is a great powerful woman, but she made a terrible mistake, and now that mistake gnaws at her insides."  
Myoga spoke, suddenly angry, "You have no call to say those things!"  
Kegasu grinned, "Do you deny her grief, flea?"  
Myoga fell silent.  
Kegasu raised his hands, and the area around them all began to ripple.  
"You will be able to see, to hear. You will be able to step into her past, but you will not be able to interact with any of them. They will not hear you, nor see you. So do not even try."  
"Get on with it," Sesshomaru said levelly.  
Kegasu smiled, and seemed to stap back.  
Now they were in a heavily forested area, the ground covered with thick leaf litter. It was very silent, except for a few birds calling in the distance.  
Then there was a sudden scream of fury, and a huge monster went running through the forest. It tore up trees as it went, ripping them clear out of the ground, hissing and yowling.  
A lone figure appeared out of the thickness, chasing the monster.  
It was Izumi.  
She was younger than she appeared now, though not by a lot. Here she looked to be about 20, instead of roughly 25 or 26. Her long hair was braided into a single braid. Half of it was coiled about her head like a helmet while the remaining was allowed to hang. She wore a white shirt and hakama with black trim. She wore her pendant out, and it flashed in the sun as she chased the monster. She wore no earrings. In her hand was a single curved blade, and she ran like the wind.  
There was a strange wildness about her, a grin on her face as she chased her prey, that was unlike Izumi's demeanor of today. She reminded InuYasha very much of Mikado.  
"How long ago is this?" InuYasha asked. When Kegasu remained silent, Myoga spoke.  
"Several thousand years ago, InuYasha."  
Izumi leapt into the air, lunging at the monster, swinging her blade.  
She managed a cut, wounding the leg of the monster. It turned and swung at her, but she blocked it, laughing, and took off again.  
Now the monster was chasing her. Izumi led it on a merry chase through the forest, InuYasha and Sesshomaru actually running through the forest as well to keep up.  
Izumi seemed to be toying with it, not really trying to kill it.  
The monster regarded her in silence for a second, and turned, about to run in the opposite direction.  
_"Wind Scar!"_  
A massive energy burst blinded them all, InuYasha reaching for his sword in confusion, as there was a massive explosion that almost knocked them to their knees.  
When the light faded, InuYasha peered through the light to see...  
His father, walking out of the forest, the Tetsusaiga in his hand. There was nothing left of the monster, only a few scraps of flesh.  
Izumi was looking somewhat haggard as well. The explosion knocked her hair askew and her white clothing was covered on dirt and leaves.  
InuYasha and Sesshomaru were silent, shocked.  
InuYasha hadn't seen his father alive. He died the night he was born, and had only seen his ghost once, when both he and Sesshomaru were fighting for possession of a third sword. Now here he was again, alive. The resemblance to Sesshomaru was eerie for him.  
For his part, Sesshomaru was startled as well, to suddenly see his father again.  
Izumi turned to him, angry, "That was unnecessary, InuTaisho! I was trying to herd the damn thing out of the forest, not kill it outright!"  
InuTashio laughed, sliding his blade back into the scabbard, "I thought I'd give you a hand, Little Lotus."  
Izumi sighed in exasperation as the Dog General walked to her. He laughed fondly as he reached out and tugged her braids back into place, "I apparently caught you off guard."  
"Of course you did!" Izumi exclaimed, "I wasn't expecting you here."  
Then her face softened, and she smiled, "Though it is very good to see you again."  
InuTashio smiled in return, "I have missed you, Little Lotus."  
They embraced.

Sesshomaru stared in shock to see him.  
Izumi...  
And his _father?_  
InuYasha gave voice first, "What the hell..?"  
Myoga spoke softly as he watched the two.  
"Izumi loved your father, InuYasha, very much. They loved each other. Though not as lovers. They were like brother and sister, though even closer. Like two sides of the same coin. There was no romantic love there, but a family love. You see....." Myoga sighed, "Izumi was a Goddess's Handmaiden. She met few people who were not gods. Izumi was not a Goddess, therefore she never fit in with them. There were no other Senmin at this time, and Izumi knew very few "mortals". The few she did know, she rarely got to see them, for compared to her, they aged quickly and died quickly. So Izumi had few friends. When she met your father, she found a kindred spirit in a way. If she was busy and could not visit for years, she could return and find him the same as when she left. And your father, Sesshomaru, did not treat Izumi as anything special. Even when he found out who she was, he did not bow, did not bend his knee to her. And Izumi liked that. So they became friends. Izumi could be herself with him. And your father felt the same. They were like sister and brother."  
As they watched, the two seperated, and InuTaisho spoke.  
"I have been in the Southlands these past few years. It is...interesting down there."  
Izumi smiled, "I can imagine. I've been there a few times myself."  
"I have a gift for you."  
Izumi blinked, "What?"  
InuTaisho reached into his shirt, and brought out something in his hand. He lowered his hand to her, and opened it.  
Nestled in his palm were two red earrings, gleaming in the sun.  
"InuTaisho..." Izumi said softly, "You didn't have to..."  
"Ah, but a woman as lovely as you should have more jewelry than that," he said, pointing to her pendant, "Here."  
Quietly, she took them, and almost shyly put them on.  
"Lovely, Little Lotus," he smiled.  
Izumi laughed.  
They turned, and started walking in the forest, side by side. Sesshomaru was quietly stunned to watch the image before him. They seemed almost...godly in their own right, creatures of color and power, strolling casually in the forest.  
"And where have you been lately?" he heard his father ask.  
"Oh, here and there. You know how my life is. Here and there."  
InuTaisho smiled.  
"And how have you been, InuTaisho?"  
The smile faded from the Dog General's face.  
"Things are not so well."  
"Oh?"  
"They are challenging me for my lands."  
Izumi frowned, "After the last beating we gave them? They aren't very bright, are they?"  
"No, they're not."  
Izumi studied him in silence for a second, and then spoke, "Why do you look so troubled? Surely you do not worry they will win this time?"  
"Not with the two of us fighting side by side again, no. They could not defeat us last time, and they will not this time. I have other worries, worries I would not bother you with."  
"InuTaisho," Izumi gently scolded, "You know you do not bother me."  
"It is my son."  
Izumi studied his face, "Sesshomaru."  
"Yes. He is becoming more willful and wild, even at his age. He has inherited both my and his mother's powers and skills, and even at this age he shows talent."  
"Then why are you worried?"  
"Because he shows his mother's lack of concern for his actions."  
Izumi looked back to the path as they walked.  
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes. He was not happy to hear himself being discussed in so cavlier a fashion, especially by his father.  
Izumi spoke again, "And what were you like at his age, InuTaisho?"  
The Dog General fell silent.  
Izumi looked at him, and laughed, "What a face! That is my answer. And if you turned out ok, I am sure he will too. Where is he, by the way? I have never had a chance to meet him, you know."  
"He is out in the forest, wandering. He has my wanderlust."  
Izumi nodded, and patted the Dog General's arm, "Things will work out - you will see."  
The image fuzzed out.  
InuYasha glanced at Sesshomaru, seeing the discomfited look on the demon lord's face. He would have loved to have said something to him, to piss him off, to annoy the living hell out of him.....but the odd thing was he couldn't think of a damn thing to say.  
The image faded in again, again at night. Here it was the forest, and beneath a tree, sleeping, lay Sesshomaru.  
He looked about 13 years, if a human. He was stretched out on the ground, fast asleep. He looked oddly peaceful.  
InuYasha stared at the sleeping Sesshomaru. It was strange to see Sesshomaru looking _younger_ than he was.  
_He's about as old as Kohaku._  
The scene didn't change for a while, and the Demon Lord was just starting to question what the point of it all was, when the bushes next to him rustled, and Izumi stepped out.  
She was wearing a somewhat night-fitting gown, though nothing crudely shaped, all in black. With her midnight hair, only her face seemed visible until the eye found the rest of her form.  
She stepped out into the clearing, looking around silently. She seemed very alert, as if she was searching for something. Her eyes fell on the silver form beneath a tree, but she did not cross to him, not yet.  
She walked to the farthest point of the little clearing, and turned so that she faced the sleeping figure. She raised her hands, closing her eyes, and murmured under her breath.  
A faint glow appeared all around the sleeping form, in a wide oval, taking in the entire clearing. After a second, the glow faded, but every so many feet, a faint sparkle lit up the ground, as if diamonds were scattered around in a large circle.  
Izumi studied her work, and nodded to herself. Then she paused, and approached the sleeping form.  
Izumi knelt down beside the sleeping Sesshomaru, studying his face. She watched in silence for a second, then smiled, "How alike you look," she whispered.  
Carefully reaching out, she used the very tips of her fingers to brush back his bangs, to see the crescent moon symbol on his forehead. Izumi smiled again, then stood up, and walked back into the forest.  
Sesshomaru was silent as he watched this, but his mind was racing. When had this happened? He had no memory of that night. No idea she had ever been there. He should have woken up with a stranger so close to him! No one creapt up on Sesshomaru.  
The image fuzzed out, and then back in.  
Now the image was of the inside of a house. Sesshomaru recognised it at once as the household of his father, the place he had grown up. At the age of ten, Sesshomaru had started leaving home for days at a time, already powerful enough to take care of himself against just about any demon he was likely to meet in the forest.  
InuTaisho was standing at a window, looking out into the darkness beyond. A single candle flickered in the center of the room, more for appearance than a need for light to see. It was very quiet.  
The door behind him opened, and Izumi walked in, dressed the same as in the previous scene.  
InuTaisho turned to her as she entered.  
"I have taken care of it," her voice was soft, "He is protected. The Shadelings may walk the forest tonight, but they will not even sense he is there."  
"Thank you, Izumi. When I learned they had returned...Sesshomaru is powerful...but not yet powerful enough to handle a Shadeling. Not that he would realize that until it was too late.."  
Izumi nodded, crossing to him, then smiled, "He looks so like you, it is almost unbelievable. He will be powerful, that one..." her smile faded, "Although I cannot see much of him. I do not understand why..."  
The other said nothing.  
Izumi shrugged, then spoke, "He will not walk in the Light, InuTaisho."  
"I know," InuTaisho said, turning back to the window, "And I am not surprised. It is inconceivable that any child of his mother and I would be anything but dark."  
Izumi put a hand on InuTaisho's shoulder gently, "Parentage does not make a person, InuTaisho, although many believe this is so. Sesshomaru, I think, will be grey. Neither Light nor Dark. And that is not a bad thing."  
InuTaisho sighed deeply.  
Izumi frowned, "What is wrong, my dearest friend? I have not seen you so depressed before."  
"Tonight I feel my age, Izumi."  
Izumi watched him, then smiled brightly, "If I can feel young and spritely at my age, General, _you_ dare not complain. Now come. Let us spar. That always improves your mood."  
InuTaisho turned to him, a faint smile on his face, "You always win."  
"So?"  
The Dog General laughed.

Another fuzzing out and in.  
Now they were both standing in a forest, during the day. Izumi's hair had grown, and was pulled back in another tight braid. They appeared to just be meeting each other.  
"It has been long, Izumi. Where have you been all this time?"  
"Oh, here and there," Izumi said casually, "There has been little action, so the past few years I've been spending time alone. Lately I've taken to listening to my flutist play."  
InuTaisho looked to her, his long ponytail swaying, "You have a flutist?"  
Izumi laughed, "Well...that's what I call her. A human woman who plays. I hide in the tree above her and listen. She plays wonderfully."  
InuTaisho laughed, "Does she know you're there at all?"  
"No. I make certain no one sees me, though she comes with enough guards. I think she's a princess or something."  
InuTaisho shrugged, uninterested, and spoke, "Tell me of the war."  
Izumi spoke, "We have sent Keimetsu's forces back, and sealed the tear they made. Amaterasu thinks this time they might actually stay where they are, but she's not "holding her breath", as they say. Keimetsu is determined."  
InuTaisho nodded.  
The image fuzzed out, and Kegasu spoke, "They were very close, those two."  
"That's enough!" Myoga yelled at Kegasu, "You are trying to suggest something that was not true! I was there! I saw how they were together, and I tell you they loved like siblings!"  
A new image fuzzed in, of a huge tree standing out in an empty field. The tree was massive, it's branches thick and strong.  
There was the sound of a flute being played out there, soft and gentle. As InuYasha and Sesshomaru walked towards the tree, they could both make out a large group of people sitting on a blanket, talking, laughing, eating. They were about 40 feet from the tree, and there was a lone person just under the tree, in the shadow.  
Sesshomaru studied the people on the blanket.  
InuYasha squinted his eyes at the tree, and the person underneath. If he could just see who...  
Blinking, heart pounding, he left Kegasu, Sesshomaru and the little Forest Spirit behind, running towards the tree.  
It wasn't......  
He came to a stop, looking down at her.  
It was his mother.  
She was sitting with her back against the tree, eyes closed, playing the flute. The tune was lovely, but somehow sad as well.  
InuYasha knelt beside her, staring.  
She looked to be about Sango's age, much younger than he could ever remember her. Her long hair was held back by two combs, and she wore a golden robe.  
"Mother?"  
The song ended, and she opened her eyes, glancing towards the group of people on the blanket, and sighed.  
InuYasha could recognise that sigh so easily. She was tired of having people around her all the time. Tired of never being allowed to be alone. She was a princess, and so had to be protected. Everywhere she went, were guards and servants and people to watch over her.  
He never knew she could play the flute.  
A bird sang in the tree above her, and suddenly, one of the women sitting on the blanket cried out.  
Izayoi looked up to see a large number of men riding towards them, carrying a tall red banner with black symbols on it.  
One of the ladies ran towards the princess, "Hurry! Come with us! Those are raiders!"  
Izayoi stood and walked towards the woman, and they were both instantly surrounded by the princesses guard, with sword and halberds out. It was apparent, however, that there were far more men mounted, riding towards them. And none of the Princesses' guards were mounted.  
One of the guards stepped forward bravely, and spoke, when the mounted men came to a stop.  
"What is your business here?"  
The lead man on a tall black horse, looked the head guard over, and grinned.  
"Our business is none of your concern." He looked over and saw Izayoi standing in the midst of the circle, and grinned, "Who is that?"  
"That is none of _your_ business," the head guard snapped, "We will ask you to keep moving."  
"Or what?" the mounted man laughed, "You'll poke at me with those little swords? That's a very beautiful woman there. I'd like to get to know her better."  
"You will not touch her!" exclaimed the head guard, and the woman with Izayoi hugged the Princess tightly.  
InuYasha stood, smothering a desire to pull his sword and attack the mounted man, but he reminded himself that this wasn't now, it was in the past.  
Still....if that man had raped his mother....  
"Enough of this," came a voice, and everyone turned.  
Izumi leapt down from the tree.  
Today she wore a bright blue haori and hakama with black birds at the shoulders. Her hair was down and free, though a little shorter than InuYasha was used to seeing it.  
"Another beautiful woman!" the mounted man grinned, "The trees are filled with them! This is my lucky day!"  
Izumi walked towards the mounted man, while some of Izayoi's men waved their swords at her. They did not know who she was, or why she had been hiding in the tree, and they did not trust her.  
Izumi spoke, "Do you think I will allow you to harm my flutist?"  
"Flutist?" the man asked, "Who the hell are you, then?"  
"My name," Izumi said, "Is absolutely none of your concern." And she smiled.  
"You dare speak so to me?!" the man yelled, "Leader of the Red Tribe of Nippon?! I will have your head, once I taste your pleasures! You and that woman both!"  
"I warn you," Izumi said, still smiling that strange smile, "I will give you one chance to ride away from here with your head still on your shoulders. One chance."  
Sesshomaru stirred. This was a side of Izumi he had not seen before. Wild and carefree.  
Interesting.  
The leader on the horse cursed, and waved his men forward.  
Izumi casually waved her hand, and everyone stopped.  
There was a second of silence, and when the Red leader looked around, he discovered everyone of his men had been turned into stone.  
"What....what have you done?!"  
"I took care of things," Izumi said casually, "Because you are a wicked man. And every one of these men are wicked as well. This one, and this one, and this one..."  
With each "this one", the stone statue of a man suddenly cracked, and split asunder, and the pieces toppled from the horse to shatter upon the ground.  
There was a shocked silence.  
The horses, suddenly relived of their burdens, spun, and took off, galloping down over the fields, heading back towards the last watering hole they had been to.  
The Red leader began to back up.  
Izumi looked at him.  
"Did I say you were free to go?"  
He froze.  
Izumi walked towards him, the Princesses' guards and entourage parting to allow her passage, staring at her in shock.  
"I know you," Izumi said to the man, "You are cruel and heartless. You have killed innocent women and children, tortured people and animals for pleasure. You enjoy nothing more than killing and grief and evil. Do you think I will let you go?"  
With a frightened curse, the man spun his horse around, and started galloping away.  
Izumi raised her hand, and made a quick slashing gesture.  
From several feet away, something seemed to move in the light, and the man's head was suddenly severed from the body, a great gout of blood splashing up. The horse reared at the scent of the blood, screaming, and the man's body toppled from it's back.  
Izayoi gasped.  
The horse turned, regarding Izumi, shivering and shuddering in fright. Izumi walked to it, reaching out a hand. Trembling, the horse walked to her, and she gently rubbed it's nose, making "sssh"-ing noises to it to calm it.  
After the horse was quiet, Izumi turned, and regarded Izayoi.  
Her captain of the guard raised his sword, but he was shivering visibly, determined to protect his Princess to the end, even against such power.  
Izumi smiled, and now it was a warm, gentle smile.  
"Put that down, good sir. I mean none of you, nor your Princess, any harm."  
They watched her, shivering, unsure.  
After a second of silence, Izayoi pushed her way forward. Her servant tried to pull her back into the safety of the circle, but InuYasha saw his mother brush the hand loose, and she walked to Izumi.  
"You....who are you?" she asked, in a shy and awed voice.  
"My name is Izumi." Izumi said.  
"My lady," her servant spoke, "You resemble each other! Even in your names!"  
"You called me your flutist," Izayoi said.  
Izumi laughed, and actually blushed slightly, "That, I suppose, was unkind of me. But I come here, you see, when you would play, and listen. You play wonderfully. Your music takes me away."  
"I...I am honoured that you enjoy it, Izumi," InuYasha's mother said shyly, dipping her head, "And I am honoured that someone as great as you would consider me her flutist."  
Izumi smiled, "That's very kind of you, dear."  
"Would you...like me to play some more for you?"  
The Captain of the Guard spoke, "My Lady, you should not be playing for just anyone, who-"  
Izayoi turned, anger suddenly on her face, "You call this lady "just anyone", who saved all our lives?"  
"Forgive me, my Lady," he bowed.  
Izumi smiled, "I would love to hear you play, my dear."  
The two women walked back to the tree - the servants and guards staying a healthy distance from the strange woman - and Izumi listened as Izayoi played. They talked, and chatted.  
Myoga spoke, "They became very good friends, Master. Like sisters. Izumi was taken with your mother's kindness and gentle heart, so rare in a woman of her rank. And in Izumi, Izayoi found...."  
There was a pause, and the flea spoke again.  
"In Izumi Izayoi found a friend. Someone to ease the lonliness. A person who would stop to see her at any time, to visit. And your mother was taken with Izumi's life. Her freedom, in particular. Izumi would tell your mother of the things she had seen, the lands she had visited. She would often bring Izayoi a flower from some distant land, or a seashell from the other side of the world. She brought Izayoi beautiful gowns and combs to wear in her hair."  
The scene fuzzed out, and fuzzed in again. Now it showed Izumi walking towards a palace. It wasn't huge, but it was obviously a rich place. She carried several boxes in her hands, and was humming happily under her breath. When she came to the door, she pulled the bell cord, and a bell sounded inside.  
After a minute, the door opened, and a harsh-looking man stood there. His face was stern and severe-looking. He blinked when he saw Izumi, then composed himself, "Yes?"  
"I am here to visit Lady Izayoi," Izumi said with a smile.  
"I am sorry, but she is indisposed." The man started to close the door.  
"Indisposed?" Izumi said, looking worried, "Is she ill?"  
"That is none of your concern, Lady, but I will tell her you dropped by."  
Frowning, Izumi put down her boxes, and thrust out a hand to stop the gate from being closed, "Who are you? Where is Saniyo, the Captain of the Guard?"  
The man frowned sternly, "He is dead. Sickness. I have been hired to replace him."  
"And you are?"  
The man frowned again, but spoke, "I am Takemaru."  
Izumi spoke sternly, "Well, Takemaru, I wish to see Lady Izayoi, and I suggest you let me in."  
"That is not possible, Lady. Good day."  
Again, Izumi stopped him from closing the gate, "I will tell you what is possible, Takemaru. You have a choice. Let me in through the front gate, or I will take out this wall and walk in on my own."  
"You dare threaten me?"  
"I threaten anyone I feel like when my friends may be in trouble."  
Cursing, Takemaru threw open the gate, and stepped aside. Izumi gathered up her boxes, and swept in, without a second glance at the man.  
Izumi found Izayoi sitting on a bench under a cherry tree, doing some needlework. When she looked up and saw Izumi, her whole face lit up.  
"Izumi!"  
Izumi put the boxes down on the ground, and embraced the Princess, "Are you ill, or hurt?"  
Izayoi looked puzzled, "Ill? Hurt? No, why?"  
Izumi looked hard at Takemaru, "I was told I could not see you, that you were indisposed."  
"Takemaru!" Izayoi said, her soft voice growing harder, "I have told you, Izumi is always welcome here!"  
"You should not be spending time with her, Princess!" Takemaru said firmly, "It is not good for you! You become wild and impetious when she is here."  
"Perhaps," Izumi said angrilly, "She merely wishes to live her own life for a while?"  
Takemaru glared.  
"That's enough, Takemaru," Izayoi said quietly, "Leave us now."  
"Princess," Takemaru bowed, and left.  
Izumi watched Takemaru leave, and spoke softly, "I do not like that man. He will cause trouble down the road somehow. I can feel it."  
"Takemaru is very strict, but very dependable," Izayoi said quietly, "He only wants what is best for me. I am sure once he sees how trustworthy you are, he will come to love you too."  
But Izumi only frowned, and watched as Takemaru walked away.  
"Please, Izumi, come and sit."  
Izumi let herself be persuaded, and she forgot about Takemaru.

The scene shifted again. Here it was night, and the lanterns and candles were lit. Izayoi was seen speaking through her doorway to someone, "No, I will be fine once I get some sleep. Please, I want no one to disturb me. No one."  
She closed the door, and slid the lock over, and then sighed. She ran to the window, and looked out, up at the moon. It was a beautiful full moon, bright and pure white, casting a brilliant light to everything.  
Izayoi turned from the window, wringing her hands, pacing back and forth in front of the door. Every few minutes she would run to the window and look out, only to walk back to the door, and resume her pacing.  
A shadow fell over the window, and Izumi appeared. Izayoi ran to her, whispering, "I was afraid you wouldn't make it!"  
"Sorry," Izumi whispered back, as she crawled over the windowsill, unladylike, "I was detained. Are you ready?"  
Izayoi nodded, "They all think I'm sick. I told them to leave me be."  
"Perfect. Now, hold still."  
"Izumi?"  
"Hold still for a minute!"  
Izayoi went motionless, holding her breath. Izumi looked her over closely, and then turned to Izayoi's futon. After a second, an image of a sleeping Izayoi appeared, covered to her nose in her blankets.  
Izayoi gasped.  
"Well," Izumi smiled, "We don't want anyone peeking in and seeing you're not here, do we?"  
Izayoi shook her head quickly.  
"You'll have to change your clothing. Put these on." Izumi held out a faded pair of hakama.  
Izayoi blinked, shocked, "I can't wear those! It's not seemly!"  
"You'll trip if you try moving quickly in those gowns, Izayoi."  
"But if anyone sees me!"  
Izumi rolled her eyes, "The whole purpose of this is that no one _will_ see you, you goose! I'm going to disguise us, so put these on!"  
Izayoi shyly removed several of her kimonos, and slipped on the hakama. Izumi tucked in the shortest of Izayoi's shirts, and gave her some proper boots to wear.  
"Ready?"  
"I...I'm sort of frightened, Izumi. But I want to do this, so badly! I've never just walked in the forest at night before!"  
Izumi smiled, "You know I won't let anything happen to you. You're safer with me than with your entire army."  
Izayoi nodded, "I know."  
"Then let's go!"  
Izumi crawled back out the window, having to help Izayoi to do so. Izayoi was graceful in all proper manner of dance and motion, but not when it came to crawling out a window. Once outside, Izumi took Izayoi's hand, and with a grin, they were off, racing over the field like two hares.  
InuYasha watched, spellbound. To watch his mother and Izumi running and laughing....he had never seen his mother looking so happy. Even when it was just the two of them, and she would smile and laugh and be happy....she had never looked so completely _alive_ as she did now. He was struck by how like Kagome and Sango they looked, when they got into one of their silly fits, giggling over something he didn't understand. They ran with their long hair rippling in the wind, the bright moonlight shining off their faces, laughing, like two river spirits out for a night.  
They came to a village, and they must have been well disguised, for no one questioned them. They seemed to appear to others like men, for other women stepped out of their way as they passed, and some men would openly nod a greeting to them - something not done to a woman. Izumi bought them some warm bread with honey, and Izayoi was taken with the simple fare. She drank a great deal of water from the common well, and seemed to be taking it all in, as if hoping to store enough inside her heart and mind to last a lifetime.  
They passed a smaller shack, and Izumi, looking around, grabbed a box and dragged it over to the high window. She got up, and peered in through the window. She quickly waved for Izayoi to do the same. When the shorter woman - Izayoi only came to Izumi's shoulder - got up and peered in, she turned bright red. With a squeak she hopped down, looking at Izumi, who was laughing as she got down as well.  
_"That's a men's bathing house!"_ Izayoi whispered, her face the color of a beet.  
"Yes, it was," Izumi said with a straight face, "See anything you like?"  
InuYasha blinked, shocked, as his mother burst into shocked laughter, clapping a hand over her mouth, as Izumi started to giggle too.  
It was so unreal, to see his mother, and Izumi, acting like simple maids.  
His mother....  
She seemed so happy.  
They spent the rest of the night running around, taking in the sights and the food, until poor Izayoi was almost dropping. Izumi lead her back home, and it was there, in the middle of the field on the outskirts of Izayoi's lands, that InuTaisho met them.  
"InuTaisho!" Izumi said, walking towards him, "What are you doing here?"  
"There is an invasion of demons from the mainland heading this way."  
"Oh dear. I should get Izayoi home, then. I will guard her lands."  
InuTaisho peered around Izumi's shoulder, "A human?"  
Izumi smiled, and walked back to Izayoi, "My flutist."  
"Ah."  
"This is Izayoi, InuTaisho. A princess from those lands just over there."  
Izayoi was staring at the demon lord speechless, her eyes on his silver hair, gold eyes, and of course those pointed ears.  
"He's a demon!" she managed to squeak.  
InuTaisho arched a brow.  
"Yes, dear, but he won't hurt you."  
The other brow went up.  
"I wouldn't let him," Izumi smiled charmingly at the demon lord, then back to Izayoi, "But we need to get you back. There's no need for you to see any of this."  
"Will you be careful, Izumi? Please?"  
"You should be more worried about yourself, human," InuTaisho said.  
"I'm going to worry about her, thank you very much!" Izayoi said hotly, startling everyone there, "She's like a sister to me!"  
The demon lord looked at the shortish human woman with new interest, "Is she now?"  
"Come along, Izayoi. If there are demons about, most likely that....Takemaru will be in to check on you. We'll get you back."  
The scene before them fuzzed out.  
Myoga spoke softly, "That was how your parents met, InuYasha. Through Izumi. Over time, my Master found that Izumi was spending more and more time with your mother....and they came to know each other....and to love."  
Sesshomaru said nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

Sesshomaru was silent, taking in all the information he had been presented with. He felt oddly confused.  
Why hadn't he woken up when Izumi had come to him in the forest? A person that close to him should have awoken him.  
He frowned.  
He felt very uneasy, knowing that, in a way, Izumi was even more familiar with him than he had been aware of.  
The scene fuzzed in again, and now it was a summer day. A blanket was spread on the ground, and Izayoi and InuTaisho were sitting on it, evidence of a meal on the blanket as well. Izumi stood before them, in full gown and dress, performing a fan dance for them, as Izayoi played on her flute. Izumi's motions were graveful and slow, her hair done like a waterfall cascading down her back.  
InuYasha studied his mother's face. She was watching Izumi dance, her eyes so full of light and happiness. Izumi, too, seemed to be happy. There was a glow to her face he had never seen before. She seemed so content.  
As if hearing his thoughts, Myoga spoke.  
"It was a time of great happiness, Master, great happiness for them all. Especially Izumi. She had, in a way, found a family she could be with. Friends."  
_A place to belong,_ InuYasha thought.  
Another scene fuzzed in. This one was in the palace of his mother. She was sitting by a window, looking out as the snow fell. A great fire was roaring in the hearth. Izayoi held some needlework in her hands, but was not doing anything with it, just gazing out the window. She looked very peaceful.  
The door opened, and Izayoi's maid entered, escorting Izumi. The woman was wearing thick gowns and cloaks, and a hood, which had snow gathered upon it. As she lowered it, the snow fell glittering to the floor.  
There was a scowl on her face.  
The little servant left, and Izayoi's smile at seeing her friend vanished, "Izumi? What is wrong?"  
"I just had a fight with Takemaru."  
Izayoi looked worried, "Takemaru? What happened?"  
"He is, I fear, not fond of me, and I think he outright hates InuTaisho. I don't know what the fool thinks he'd do if he ever actually met him....and he blames me for that as well."  
Izayoi shook her head, and rose, "Never mind that. I....I have something to tell you."  
Izumi looked at Izayoi's face, and fell silent for a second, "What?"  
Izayoi placed her hands upon her stomach, and suddenly looked very shy, "I think I'm pregnant."  
Izumi's face lit up in joy, and she ran to Izayoi, putting her own hand on the woman's stomach, _"Oh Izayoi!"_  
Izayoi blushed softly, but smiled at Izumi, "I'm so happy."  
"Here, sit, sit!" IZumi herded Izayoi to her chair, and when the woman sat, Izumi knelt at her feet, gazing up at her.  
"When did you start to think...?"  
"Yesterday. This is the second month I...."  
Izumi smiled, "This is wonderful."  
Izayoi nodded, then spoke, "Only....I think Takemaru thinks I will wed him. He does not yet know...and I fear what might happen when he does."  
Izumi fell silent for a second, then spoke, "Do you want to wed him, Izayoi?"  
"Oh no! No! I do not love him. He is a good, strong man, but..."  
"The "good" part I disagree with," Izumi said dryly, "But that is no matter."  
"But Izumi...what if I am forced to wed him?"  
Izumi laid her hands over Izayoi's, "Izayoi, I will not let anything happen to you. Never. I will always be there to protect you. I promise. What do you want?"  
Izayoi looked at her small belly again, and then spoke, "InuTaisho spoke of me going to his place to live. To raise our child."  
"Is that what you want?"  
Izayoi nodded.  
"Then that is what will happen."  
"But I cannot just-"  
"Izayoi," Izumi said gently, "You will have to turn your back on your title. You know that, don't you? You will have to leave all this behind. And you will most likely insult some people in your decision."  
Izayoi nodded, then spoke in almost a whisper, "I do not care."  
Izumi smiled, and moved, resting her head in the other woman's lap, "Then you will live with InuTaisho, and I will visit and see the child, and we shall all be very happy. It sounds wonderful."  
Izayoi smiled, "It does. You will be an aunt, Izumi."  
Izumi paused, and looked up at Izayoi with wide eyes, "Aunt? Oh but Izayoi..."  
Izayoi shook her head almost violently, and placed her hands upon Izumi's head, "You are my sister. The one I was not born with. You will be my child's aunt, and you will live with us and you will be happy too! We will find you someone, and you will marry, and we will all be so happy."  
Izumi smiled softly. She knew Izayoi understood she could not marry, nor have children, but if the princess wanted to console herself with those thoughts of the future, she would not dissuade her.  
She put her head back on Izayoi's lap, "Which do you hope for?"  
"Oh, it does not matter," Izayoi said softly, "Boy or girl, I will love them with everything I am."  
The image fuzzed out.  
InuYasha looked down at his feet, strange feelings swirling in his stomach. Izumi knew his mother. Had been like a sister to her...and he had never known. He was supposed to grow up in an extended family, with Izumi....but what had happened? Izumi had promised to...why had she let this happen!?  
Now a new voice spoke.  
"I'm sure Izumi would just love to see this little scene."  
They all turned as if one, to see Mikado standing there, her arms crossed, and an utterly pissed off look on her face.  
"Mikado..."  
She marched up towards Kegasu, who seemed to shrink back from her.  
"What the hell are you doing out, Kegasu? I don't remember you having permission to leave."  
Kegasu motioned towards Sesshomaru and InuYasha, "I am performing my duties, Senmin."  
"Duties my ass. I suppose you took their blood as well?"  
InuYasha self-consciously touched the sore spot on his neck, and Mikado saw the motion. She threw her hands up into the air, "Lunkheads, all of you! Complete and utter lunkheads!"  
"Hey!" InuYasha snapped back, "After what you said to me yesterday, I've got a right to find out what the link is between me and Izumi! And why the hell didn't she _tell_ me she knew my mother?"  
"Or my father." Sesshoumaru put in, his voice level and cool.  
Mikado looked at them both, "Because that's Izumi's business, and no one else's. If she felt comfortable telling you guys this, she would have. Instead you go sneaking around behind her? Oh, that's _really_ gonna please her!"  
She glared at Kegasu in silence for a few minutes, then threw her hands up in the air again, "Fine! I guess you've seen this much now, you might as well see the rest. Alright, Kegasu, go ahead."  
"You are staying?" Kegasu asked.  
_"Yes_ I'm staying. I'm not trusting you."  
"The price..." Kegasu began weakly, but one look from Mikado shut him up quickly.  
"Where are we?" Mikado asked Myoga. The little flea spoke softly.  
"Coming to...the master's death."  
Mikado's face lost some of it's anger, and she seemed drained. She spoke.  
"Fine. Let me tell you something. Izumi took to your parents because they were her family. She came to love them as if they were her own brother and sister-"  
InuYasha but in, "We already know that."  
Mikado rounded on him. Her eyes were hard, but her voice was being kept normal.  
"No. You don't know, InuYasha. You don't know anything, so be quiet."  
InuYasha, blinking, shut up.  
Mikado sighed, and spoke, "We Senmin are sort of a new race, understand? Amaterasu created the first one when she took Izumi in as her Handmaiden. She gave Izumi the powers she would need to live long and be able to protect herself, because one of the reasons Amaterasu took Izumi was so that Izumi could attend to the details Amaterasu herself didn't have time for. Izumi started off life as a normal human. Being in Amaterasu's presence gave Izumi powers on her own, sort of..._absorbed_...but she was _given_ powers as well. I'm going into more detail than that, because you don't need to know any of that. Suffice to say...Izumi was human when she started life, and then she became Senmin.  
Humans, demons...even other races...have a need to...belong. To have a family, a group, a clan. _Something_. Izumi had that as well. Now that there are more of us Senmin, it's sort of an unwritten rule to try and not become too attached to the ..._mortal_ beings we protect. Because we'll outlive them. So we're encouraged to find friends and even lovers amongst the other Senmin.  
Izumi didn't have this. She didn't have any other Senmin to go to. So she took to your parents, InuYasha, because they took to her.  
And that became known as Izumi's Mistake."  
"I still don't-"  
"Watch, and see." Mikado turned to Kagasu, her voice going hard, "Alright, you leech, let's go."  
An image began to fuzz in.  
Mikado spoke, "Just prior to your father's death, Sesshomaru, InuYasha, Izumi had been doing some work for Amaterasu on another plane. She had no forknowledge of what was about to happen."  
The scene cleared before them.  
It was night, and it was raining hard. In the background, was the remains of what used to be a house, all collapsed and burned beyond recognition. Black soot marked everything, making the streams run black.  
There was a figure on the ground. Once tall and powerful, the white clothing now dirtied and torn, charred.  
InuYasha recognised the flea, Myoga, perched on a rock near the body, crying. Oddly, Totosai was there too, looking more dejected than ever. Even his one-eyed cow looked miserable. The rain pounded on them, soaking them all through.  
Sesshomaru stared at the figure on the ground. He had known his father had died in the battle for that stupid human woman, but he hadn't known he had lived a short time afterwards. Apparently, just enough to crawl clear of the wreckage of the house before dying.  
"Oh Master," Myoga wailed, crying.  
"He was too wounded," Totosau said, "He was too weak. In that weakened state, the burning house falling on him killed him. A beam must have broken his neck, for his body is not marked."  
InuYasha watched, silent. It felt strange, seeing his father dead. He hadn't known him alive....but had never seen him dead either. He didn't know how he should feel.  
A scream suddenly broke the air in the darkness, causing him to jump.  
Myoga, the now-Myoga perched on InuYasha's shoulder, sighed.  
Izumi ran into sight.  
Her gown was torn, her hair was wild, and she was filthy. It was apparent she had just come from some savage battle herself. The rain pounded on her, soaking her torn clothing, pasting her long hair to her neck and back.  
He voice was agonized, _"INUTAISHO!"_  
"Lady Izumi," the then-Myoga said tearfully.  
Izumi staggered to the still body of InuTaisho, falling beside him. She grabbed his shoulders, dark eyes wide with disbelief, "InuTaisho!? _INUTAISHO!?"_  
"He is gone, Lady!" Myoga wailed.  
"No! Oh Gods no! NO!" Izumi laid her head on the fallen demon's chest and wailed her grief and agony and loss. She buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing his name over and over, her heart shattered into a thousand pieces.  
After a few minutes, she lifted her head, the tears on her cheeks dissapearing in the pounding rain, and she looked at Myoga, "What happened? _Tell me!"_  
"Master fought a powerful demon, Lady Izumi, and he was weakened. He came for the Lady Izayoi tonight, and had to face another man-"  
Izumi hissed, "Takemaru."  
"Just so. I fear the building was on fire, and it...collapsed. Master was...killed."  
Izumi looked to InuTaisho's face, trying to swallow her tears and almost choking. She brushed the bangs from his face, gazing into his face.  
"Please don't leave me, InuTaisho," Izumi said softly, her voice almost vanishing in the pounding rain, "I need you so."  
There was silence, only the pounding of the rain.  
Izumi sank her head onto his chest, closing her eyes, gasping his shoulders tightly. She shuddered violently as her emotions swept through her.  
After a few minutes, she raised her head, and even InuYasha flinched slightly from the grief and loss in her eyes. She looked at Myoga, "You know what he wishes?"  
Myoga nodded.  
"I will attend to him."  
"Lady Izumi, you-"  
_"I will attend to him!"_ she snarled, looking wild and powerful, her hair straggly over her face and shoulders, _"No one touches him but me!"_  
"Yes, Lady Izumi."  
Casting one last longing look into his face, she gathered herself up, and rose. She swallowed back her grief, straightening up, and gazing down at him. She cast her hands over his body, murmuring soft words, and InuTaisho's body vanished.  
"Come to the Eastern Shrine," Izumi said to Myoga, "We will do what is necessary there."  
"He wants his body placed in the afterworld, Izumi."  
"I know. But I will conduct a ceremony first. To ensure his peace in the next world."  
Myoga bowed.  
The image fuzzed out.  
When it fuzzed in again, it was in the middle of a small shrine. All the candles had been lit. The Shrine's owner, a small, old man, sat in the farthest corner, looking afraid to say anything. The woman had entered from the rain, and demanded that he step aside, that she wanted to conduct a ceremony for him. One look at her told the old man to say nothing, and he scuttled aside.  
Now InuTaisho's body was laid out on the alter, in pure white clothing.  
Myoga and Totosai stood there, as well as a few people neither InuYasha nor Sesshomaru knew.  
Izumi stepped into the small room.  
She was wearing a gold and white gown, and the pendant she wore seemed to glow with it's own light. Her clothing seemed to glow as well, whether it was the pure brightness of the white and gold, or something else, it was hard to tell.  
Her hair was long and loose, as she wore it today, and on her head was a beautiful headpiece. It was made of pure gold, and caught the candlelight and cast it back brighter. It was a circular piece, with long, sharp gold points bursting out from the central piece. Diamonds glittered as they hung from each point. Izumi looked like she was wearing a sunburst.  
"Izumi's ceremonial dress," Mikado said softly. InuYasha stared. Izumi looked like a Goddess in her own right....save for the pale cast of grief on her face. Her eyes looked empty.  
There was no sound for them to hear. They could only watch as Izumi performed some ceremony. She lit inscence around the body, letting it waft over the lifeless form. She spoke some words they could not hear, and added soemthing to the small brazier near the altar that made the fire burn almost pure white. More words, and then she gently reached out and laid her hand alongside InuTaisho's cheek. For a long time she stayed that way, gazing into the face of her dearest friend, before closing her eyes, and turning away.  
The next scene was of Izumi, Myoga, Totosai, and again the unknown people, now standing in the place that InuYasha recognised would be the resting place for his father's massive bones.  
Again the image changed, and now they were _inside_ the bones, in the circular pit at the very center.  
Izumi looked back at Totosai, "Tetsusaiga."  
The old demon came forward, carrying the Tetsusaiga.  
Izumi turned, and held out her hands. Totosai put the sword in her hands, and she turned. Grasping the sword tightly in her hands, she raised it high, and with a mighty thrust, sank the sword deeply into the ground.  
"It is done," she said softly.  
They left the place, heading back towards the entrance to the living world. As the flea, Totosai, and the others dissapeared through, Izumi turned, and gazed back at the massive bones in silence, a sad, longing look on her face.  
After a few minutes, she turned again, and walked through the portal.  
The image fuzzed out.  
"Poor Totosai," Mikado said, "He had all his memories of Izumi erased. He doesn't remember any of this."  
"Why?" InuYasha asked.  
"Totosai is a master swordmaker," Mikado said, "and strong in his own right....but the man can't keep a secret for his own life! He would have let too much on. Izumi hated to do it, but she had no choice."  
"No choice?" InuYasha asked sarcastically, "I thought Izumi could do anything."  
Mikado rounded on him, "You still don't get it, do you? Well, you will."  
She turned then to Sesshomaru, "Ok, Lord Sesshomaru. Your viewing is over."  
He arched a brow slightly, "Excuse me?"  
"What Kegasu has to show now is for InuYasha only. You've seen what you felt you needed to see. I'm sorry, but the rest here on is personal."  
Sesshomaru looked at Mikado cooly. He had just been dismissed, and wasn't exactly sure how to respond to it. But he supposed she was right - anything beyond this point was unimportant to him. He had seen part of what he wanted to see.  
Aloof and cool as ever, Sesshomaru turned, and walked away from them, saying nothing, and dissapearing into the mists.  
Mikado sighed, and turned back to InuYasha, but spoke to Kegasu, "Alright, you damned leech. Get on with it."  
Kegasu, looking rather sour, moved his hands in an intricate pattern, and the image began to reform.  
Mikado looked at InuYasha, and spoke. Now her anger was replaced by a tiredness and a sadness that went deep into her eyes.  
"This is the part I hate to remember. But you have to watch, InuYasha, and learn."  
InuYasha was starting to think maybe had hadn't insisted on knowing. There was a strange look in Mikado's eyes that made him nervous - like a storm was coming, or that maybe he was about to cross a point where he could not go back.  
The image came into focus. It was a grand-looking room, tall and huge. Everything was white and gold and red. Elaborate tapestries hung on the walls, thick woven rugs graced the floors. The cushions were of the finest red silk. And there were things hanging on the walls that he couldn't even recognise - strange, alien-looking things.  
It sounded like a storm outside, thunder and rain.  
At one end of the room stood a strange light; it was tall and slender, and seemed to have no source. It was extremely bright and vivid, and yet it didn't hurt the eyes to look at. It flickered like a flame, rippling like a white fire. InuYasha stared at it, until he suddenly realized he could just see what appeared to be a figure inside, though he could see nothing of it, save a vague humonoid shape.  
Mikado spoke, "That is Amaterasu. One of her forms."  
InuYasha stared at the Goddess in silence, awed despite himself. He couldn't help it - it was hard not to. His mind kept trying to find the figure within the light, but there was nothing to hold onto, nothing to really see. It was like an optical illusion.  
The two main doors opened with a bang, and Izumi strode in.  
She was dripping wet, looking bedraggled and harassed, as if she had just walked through a violent storm. Her hair clung to her face and neck, her clothing was soaking and clinging to her.  
"Amaterasu!" she called, her voice strained and upset, "Lady, I need your help!"  
The Goddess spoke, her voice a strange thing; a woman's deep voice, smooth and warm, yet with a strange rippling effect, as if spoken through flame.  
"Daughter."  
Izumi ran towards the Goddess, wringing her hands, "I cannot find Izayoi, Lady! I have searched for her everywhere, but I can't find her! I can't even _sense_ her! She must be blocked to me, but there is only one who could do that! MOther Amaterasu, please, why have you done this!?"  
The Goddess's voice was kind, but sad.  
"They are beyond you now, Izumi. You can have nothing more to do with them."  
Izumi stood shocked, dripping, staring at the Goddess before her, "W-What?"  
"I am sorry for what I have done, but your time with them is past."  
"No you....you don't understand, Mother Amaterasu. Izayoi is due any day now! And InuTaisho is dead! I have to _find_ her, to help her! She can't have the child alone, and she has no one to protect her or her child."  
"I understand your concerns, Daughter, but things must happen now that you can have no part of."  
"What things?! What are you talking about?"  
"I cannot say."  
"You cannot......Mother Amaterasu! Please! _She needs me!_"  
"I cannot."  
Izumi's face started to darken slightly with anger, "Lady, Izayoi has no one, don't you understand!? You are a Goddess and may not understand the lives of the lesser mortals, but she will need help. I _promised_ her I would look after her. And now InuTaisho is dead! She needs me more than ever!"  
"Daughter-"  
"Don't you realize how they'll treat her?! She'll have a hanyou child! I have to find her a place where she can raise the child where they will both be accepted!"  
"Her time on the earth is already marked, Daughter."  
There was a long pause, "What?"  
Silence.  
"She...she's going to die?" Izumi asked softly, eyes wide and confused, "She can't. Lady, she....she can't."  
"Can't and must are two different things, Daughter."  
Izumi fell silent for a second, then spoke, "She's already had the child, hasn't she?"  
"Yes."  
"Then I _must_ go to her! I promised!"  
"A promise you should not have made, Izumi. For it is one you cannot keep."  
"Mother Amaterasu!" Izumi said, angry now, angry in the face of her Goddess, "If Izayoi is going to die, _I have to find the child!_"  
"You cannot."  
"What can it hurt?" Izumi said now, her voice changing, almost pleading, "One small child? Mother Amaterasu....it is _Izayoi's child_. Let me raise it. You know I will love it like my own. I have wanted nothing more these past few years than to see her child. _Their_ child. Please...let me raise it."  
"You know that is not possible."  
Anger returned, "The child is hanyou! And without Izayoi to raise it, what will happen to it!?"  
"He must learn, and grow on his own."  
"He? It's...it's a boy?"  
"It is."  
"A boy...." Izumi smiled softly for a split second, then snapped back to what had been said, "What do you mean, grow on his own?! He's a _child_! He needs care!"  
"Izumi...Daughter...that child will become powerful, and strong, and may one day play a very important role in events to come on the earth. And he will have lessons to learn. Harsh, cruel lessons. To become who he must be, he must grow up alone."  
There was a long pause, as Izumi took in what was being said. And then, Izumi's face darkened, and she spoke, her voice harsh and angry and cold.  
_"No!_ I will not allow it! I will find him and I will raise him like my own! I will not let you take Izayoi's child from me!"  
Izumi turned and started to leave, but the two massive doors swung shut with a resounding clash. Izumi turned, and faced the Goddess, her own face white with fury.  
"You will not stop me!"  
Amaterasu said nothing.  
The two faced each other, and suddenly the room was filled with booming thunder and violent winds that tore the tapestries from the walls and tore the curtain into two. The cushions ripped and their stuffing flew all over the room.  
Izumi was challening her Goddess.  
It was no contest, of course. Like a raging child, Izumi's anger was uncontrolled and fuelled by emotion. And like a loving parent, Amaterasu simply held all Izumi's powers in check until the woman spent herself.  
Izumi staggered back, her face still white with fury, _"I hate you!"_  
The thunder stopped.  
Izumi's eyes widened, and her fists unclenched, hands suddenly hanging loosely. Limply, she fell to her knees, staring at her Goddess in mute shock. And then, silently, she put her face in her hands, and started to weep.  
She cried like someone who had lost everything, deep wracking sobs, as she sank to the floor, falling as low as she could have come in her life.  
The Goddess moved to her, bending beside her. Gently, the Goddess held Izumi as she wept.  
"Please Mother," Izumi cried helplessly, "He'll have so many against him. Please."  
"I cannot, Daughter," the Goddess said softly, "I cannot. These things even I cannot interfere with. He is Fate Breaker, and even I cannot step in. I am sorry. I know you are greived."  
Izumi bowed her head and wept.  
The image fuzzed out.  
Mikado turned to InuYasha, arms crossed, glaring. InuYasha just looked back, unable to say anything. He was utterly speechless, unaware that all this had happened at the very beginning of his life. He kept seeing her, begging to Goddess to let her raise him as her own.  
The image fuzzed in again, and Mikado spoke.  
"Of course....Izumi being Izumi...she somehow managed to bypass the blocks our Lady had put around you, and she found you."  
InuYasha blinked, "What?"  
Mikado nodded, "She found you...but she couldn't let herself be shown to you. Or meet you. She was forced to stay in the shadows of your life, when she wasn't pulled away to do our Lady's work."  
The scene cleared. It was a large plain with several hills surrounding it, a deep valley. There was a large demon standing in the middle, carrying a club. It was ugly, with a pig-like snout and one black horn protruding from the middle of the top of his head. It's skin was a vivid green, and it's eyes were red. It wore only a dirty loincloth.  
"I remember him," InuYasha said.  
And sure enough, there was InuYasha, standing before it.  
He was much younger, looking a little younger than Kohaku did today. But he still wore that look of a trouble-maker, and now he was glaring up at the demon.  
"That was the first demon I killed," InuYasha said lowly. He had faced the damn thing because it had given him no chance, but inside he had been terrified. The thing outweighed him by about 500 pounds at least, and looked like it would have liked nothing more than to eat him alive. InuYasha had known then that he had to fight, because he was tired of running. And if he died...well...  
Maybe that would have been a blessing too.  
The thing swung at him, and he started to fight, to lunge back and swipe at it with his claws - he had no Tetsusaiga then.  
The fight went on for a while, InuYasha looking more and more tired.  
InuYasha watched the fight from a different prespective, watching himself fight. To this day he didn't know how the hell he had managed to win the fight, but he had, and he had gained a great deal of encouragement because of it.  
This time, however, he saw something different.  
The younger-InuYasha lunged and swiped. But just as the thing was about to hit him, something flashed past his field of vision, a quick silver streak.  
An arrow.  
It sank into the demon's back, where the younger InuYasha could not see it. For a brief second it flickered, and died, vanishing from sight.  
The younger InuYasha stood panting, watching the dead thing for a while, unable to believe that somehow he had won.  
"What..." InuYasha asked Mikado.  
Mikado pointed, and InuYasha turned.  
Standing atop one of the hills, Izumi stood, bow in hand. She stared down at the younger InuYasha in silence, her dark eyes full of sadness.  
InuYasha blinked, "Izumi...?"  
Mikado's voice was soft, "I told you. She shadowed you when she could, taking care of you. She didn't always have the option...but she's been with you for a very long time, InuYasha."  
The younger InuYasha turned then, and started walking away, heading back to someplace where he could rest up and marvel over the fact he was still breathing.  
Izumi watched him go in silence, the wind tugging gently at her gowns and hair. She looked like she was going to say something, but checked herself.  
For a second she was still, then she dropped the bow and started running towards him, reaching out as if she could grab him from that distance.  
Only a few steps, she took, before checking herself. Berift, she watched him walk away, watched him leave.  
Slowly, she turned, and walked down the hill, heading into the forest. She passed by some trees, holding herself upright, tall and strong, but her face was pale. After a few seconds, she faltered, leaning against a tree. There she stayed for a short while, and then she sank to her knees, starting to cry again.  
A younger-looking Mikado raced out of the trees, kneeling beside her, and gathering the older woman up in her arms, "Izumi."  
"Oh Mikado," Izumi's voice was broken, "He's so alone."  
"Ssshhhh, it's ok. It's ok. He'll be ok, Izumi. Amaterasu promised you that. He'll be ok."  
She rocked the older woman.  
The image fuzzed out.  
Mikado turned to InuYasha, and the look in her eyes told the hanyou she had revisited the emotions as well.  
"She did everything she could for you, InuYasha. If she had been able to, she would have raised you as her own child until you were old enough to learn about your mother. BUt your forced solitude has caused her grief, because she had to watch you fumble and falter, and not be able to help you. Izayoi's child. InuTaisho's child."  
Mikado sighed, "I was taken on by then. Izumi tried very hard not to like me, because she figured why care for people when they only die on you? But you know Izumi....she can't help but like people."  
InuYasha swallowed, trying to take in all he had learned, "I....I don't...."  
Mikado's voice hardened, "So if I ever hear you talk like that to her again, you little pup, I'll skin you alive, got it? Izumi's shed more tears over you than hundreds of other people combined. Izumi made the mistake of loving two lower mortals, and she's never gotten over it. Who do you think visits your mother's grave?"  
InuYasha blinked, shocked, "Izumi?"  
"Every year. After you, of course - she didn't want you to know she was there. But this time she slipped up and got there ahead of you. Izumi's got a lot on her mind lately."  
InuYasha sighed deeply.  
MIkado turned to Kegasu, "And as for you, leech. You better ooze back to whatever hole you crawled out of before Izumi sees you. She banished you once. If she sees you're here she'll kill you outright."  
Kegasu snarled, but turned, and shuffled off.  
InuYasha spoke, "Izumi banished him?"  
Mikado nodded, "For great crimes. Kegasu's caused the death of thousands, InuYasha. He's not to be trusted in any way, shape or form. What he shows you is true - he has no way to corrupt truth - but he tries to plant suggestions in your head to cause you to doubt or hate."  
Myoga, who was still there, nodded, "He is a truth-twister."

Sesshomaru walked from the path towards the forest, feeling very uncomfortable, and he didn't like it.  
Izumi knew his father. They had been the closest of friends, yet _he_ had never met her, had never heard his father even _mention_ her. Not once.  
She had come to him in the forest, when he had been sleeping, as a youth. Had brushed away his bangs.  
He knew none of it.  
None.  
He felt foolish, and that was something Sesshomaru had not felt for many, many, many years, not since he was a child.  
He stopped walking, looking into the distance, his eyes unfocused as he thought.  
Why had his father not spoken to him of her? Why had he kept it a secret?  
From _him_?  
He was suddenly, powerfully, aware of her presence, as her scent washed over him, and he turned, actually startled that she had somehow approached so closely without his knowledge.  
She stood in a small beam of light, a woman of great beauty and power, brightly lit like a garden or some exotic bird, watching him in silence...  
And there was such a _look_ on her face, so intense.  
Anger.  
Hurt.  
"So," she said, and her voice was so very un-Izumi-like he found him checking himself for a second, almost confused as to her hostility towards him, "Now you know."  
"Yes," he said, his voice cool as always, and yet deep within him was a strange, unpleasant feeling he couldn't identify but didn't like.  
"You spied on my past," she said, and was aware of how little warmth there was in her voice, something else that was strange to him. Izumi was always so alive and warm.  
"I did. Why did you keep this from me? Why did _he_?"  
Izumi watched him in silence for a second, not speaking, and the demon lord suddenly felt very confused and unsettled. He was reminded of how he would feel as a very young child, when he had done something to greatly dissapoint his father.  
She spoke again, not moving towards him, "Because I asked him not to."  
"Why?"  
"Because the fewer people who knew of me the better. There were those who claimed I was fighting InuTaisho's battles for him."  
Sesshomaru stiffened slightly, and Izumi spoke.  
"Yes. He, too, was insulted by that. I was glad...I was _honoured_ to fight alongside you father when his lands were in dispute. But I never interfered with his own battles. I would not have insulted him in that manner. And he fought in mine."  
"Your battles? What do you mean?"  
But Izumi not not elaborate, and kept talking, "But I wished few people to know of me. For I was doing something I was not allowed, Lord Sesshomaru. I was interacting with "common" mortals. And you were not around very often. So I asked your father to say nothing of me. The fewer that knew of me on a personal level, the better."  
Sesshomaru studied her face, aware she was angry and upset, and oddly enough, it seemed to make him feel strange, and he found himself speaking before being aware he was going to.  
"You came to me in the forest that night."  
Izumi nodded, but did not speak, until Sesshomaru asked, "Why?"  
"Because your father asked me to."  
Silence.  
"I do not understand why you kept this from me," Sesshomaru said, feeling defensive for no real reason he could see, "It concerns my father."  
"Would you have listened to me, Lord Sesshomaru, if you knew I had been friends with your father? Or would you have tried to overpower me as well?"  
Sesshomaru blinked at that, actually shocked enough to look startled, before getting himself back under control.  
"Overpower?"  
"Do you not have a deep need to succeed where your father did not?" Izumi asked, cutting deep, "Do you not feel a desire to be more powerful than he? Did you not even, at one time, think to best him in battle?"  
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed, "You speak too freely."  
"You asked, Lord Sesshomaru, and I answered," she replied coldly.  
Izumi turned, and started walking away, walking back into the forest. Once again, Sesshomaru spoke before being aware he was going to.  
"Thank you."  
Izumi, confused, paused, and looked over his shoulder at him, "For what?"  
"For the ritual you gave him. The ceremony. I thought my father had been taken to the other side without ceremony. I thank you for that."  
Izumi slowly turned, and he saw how pale she was, how dark her eyes looked in her pale face.  
When she spoke, Izumi was almost choking on her words, her voice hushed and wounded.  
"I loved your father, Lord Sesshomaru, more than anyone else in the world. I would have died for him, gladly, if I could have prevented his own death. He was everything to me. And I could do nothing."  
Sesshomaru said nothing; there was nothing to say.  
Izumi sighed deeply, looking very tired, and spoke, "Is InuYasha still with Kegasu?"  
Sesshomaru nodded.  
Izumi spoke, "I hate Kegasu. He is cruel for the sheer joy of it. He always shows you the truth, but in a way as to cause grief. If Mikado were not in there with InuYasha, I would go and drag him out."  
Sesshomaru said nothing.  
Izumi looked at him with despair in her eyes, _"Why_ did you have to go and see? My hurts, my wounds, are revealed, and I feel as if I am naked against the world. I cannot trust you, Sesshomaru."  
The demon lord narrowed his eyes again, startled.  
"You speak," he said, harshly, "As if I attacked you outright."  
"No," Izumi said lowly, "but it is not just physical attacks that hurt, Lord."  
Sesshomaru stirred, uneasy and uncomfortable, and spoke.  
"If you were not so damned secretive, others would not have been forced to-"  
"Others? Speak bluntly, Lord. _You._ _You_ went behind my back."  
"You would not answer my questions."  
"There was a reason! I told you that. _Why would you still go and do this?!"_  
"Because I had a desire to know you!" he found himself saying, and then, startled and shocked he said so much, promptly said nothing else, and turned, walking away, "If I discomfit you so much, Lady, I will leave you be from now on."  
He walked through the forest, and dissapeared into the trees.  
Izumi said nothing, merely watched him walk away. She sighed, running a hand over her face for a second.  
It was at that moment that InuYasha and Mikado appeared, walking along the path.  
Mikado saw her first, and paused, cursing under her breath in shock. InuYasha looked at Mikado, then to where she was looking. Seeing Izumi, he paused, completely unsure of what to say or do.  
Izumi sighed, looking at him, "You too?"  
"Izumi," Mikado spoke gently, "He had a right."  
Izumi said nothing, merely watched InuYasha with a sad gaze.  
InuYasha almost squirmed under that gaze. She looked so damned _dissapointed_ in him.  
"You should have told me," he said lowly, surprised to discover that there was an anger inside him, "You should have _told_ me."  
"Mikado," Izumi said softly, "Leave us."  
"What? Izumi, I think-"  
"Leave us, Mikado."  
With a hearty sigh, Mikado turned, and walked off, glancing once over her shoulder at the two figures before dissapearing into the forest.  
Izumi walked to InuYasha, and turned, to stand alongside him, "Walk with me."  
InuYasha blinked, taken off guard, "Uh...ok."  
She started walking along the path, and he fell in beside her, walking silently, looking at the path ahead. He had a strange feeling something was about to happen, but he didn't know what, so he couldn't prepare.  
She spoke, her voice was soft, "I _should_ have told you, InuYasha, yes. You are right."  
"She was my _mother_, he said lowly.  
"She was. And she loved you, very much. She longed for the day she could hold you."  
Silence. They walked on. After another few moments, she spoke again.  
"Sometimes, InuYasha, we hold memories within us, so far within us. They cause so much pain and grief that we bury them deep inside us, far from the light, into the shadow inside. And we harbour them there, only bringing them out to look at them when we are alone and can grieve properly. And we fear having them brought out against our will, for the have not healed, and they can _never_ heal. _Never_. So we fight to keep it hidden, and after a while it grows roots and lodges itself there, and then we _cannot_ bring it out, no matter how hard we may try."  
She fell silent again, as if embarassed to have made such an emotional speech.  
"Yeah," InuYasha said, shortly, "I know."  
She looked at him, and then nodded, "Yes...I suppose you do."  
He wasn't surprised to see they had walked back to his mother's grave. There Izumi left him and walked to the grave, and sat there, gently running her hand over the marker.  
"I loved her so much, InuYasha. She was everything to me, as your father was."  
She turned her sad eyes on him, "I am sorry I could not be there for you when you needed me most."  
InuYasha felt uncomfortable, "Yeah...well...I sort of...understand. I mean..." his voice hardened a little, "I think your Lady was wrong. I was a kid, and I needed someone, and I don't give a _damn_ what she thinks I had to learn...I could have been taught it, couldn't I?" He took a breath, letting it out, and spoke normally again, "But you tried. I saw that."  
"I would have raised you like my own," Izumi said very gently, "For love of Izayoi."  
"Thank you," he said, still feeling strange.  
He walked over, and sat on the other side of the marker, not meeting her face, trying to control all the strange emotions he was feeling.  
Gazing at his feet, he spoke, "Did...are you the one who buried her?"  
Izumi spoke, "Yes. I heard she had been killed by my birds...and came as fast as I could. I was hoping to find you."  
"What would you have done?" InuYasha asked, now meeting her eyes, "You weren't allowed to interfere."  
Izumi smiled sadly; a pale ghost-smiled.  
"I would have found a good home for you."  
"But that was against your Lady's wishes."  
"I know," she said softly.  
There was a silence for a while, and then Izumi spoke, "You look so much like InuTaisho....and when you smile, I can see Izayoi."  
He looked at her, a strange feeling in his heart, "Yeah?"  
"Oh yes. You have her smile. Just....without the fangs," Izumi smiled.  
InuYasha blinked, then chuckled, "Yeah, right."  
Another second passed in silence, then he spoke, "I came back. To the village, I mean, after I had run...and I found the grave. That's how I knew she was dead. But I didn't know who had buried her. I wanted to find out, because I wanted to thank them, you know? Because no one in that Godsdamned village ever gave a damn about either of us, and...the marker is...I mean it's nice, and...I..." unable to make sense, he shrugged the rest away.  
Izumi nodded.  
Another silence. This one oddly comfortable, as they both sat by the grave.  
"In the end," Izumi said, "My Lady was right. There were things you did have to learn, InuYasha, though I am sorry you had to suffer to learn them."  
"Like what?" he challenged, "What the hell did I have to learn that required the death of my mother!?"  
"Compassion. Kindness."  
"I would have learned that with her! My mother was kind!"  
"She was," Izumi said, "But I think you needed to learn something she could not teach you."  
"What?"  
"A true understanding of what it is to be alone."  
Silence. InuYasha looked at her for a second, then down at his feet.  
"Well, that's a real sick way of making a kid learn."  
"I know," she said softly, "And I am so sorry."  
InuYasha shrugged again, trying to show none of it really had any meaning to him. After another long pause, he spoke again.  
"She....played the flute?"  
"Oh yes," Izumi smiled, "She was very good at it. Very beautiful."  
"She never played for me. I mean....I can't remember ever hearing her play."  
"I think she lost the desire after your father's death. And I know she....she must have...wondered why I left her, after promising...promising to look after her..." Izumi's voice faltered, and she quickly looked away, her hands clenched.  
InuYasha watched her, unhappy, not sure what to say or do. Clumsily, he said, "I...from what I saw in there, she....she really loved you, Izumi. I think...she must have known there was a reason..."  
Izumi looked back, tears brimming in her eyes, "I carry that with me everyday. That I could not come for her. That InuTaisho died, and I must have seemed to have abandoned her. What did she think?"  
"I don't know..." he faltered, "I...she loved you. I saw that. You made her happy, Izumi, when she was in that damned place. I thank you for that. And for the...." he gestured to the grave marker, and said weakly, "It's a nice place...."  
Izumi suddenly burst into tears, alarming InuYasha. She buried her face in her hands, and wept, "I curse my life. No wonder it's been called my greatest mistake."  
"You know?" he said weakly.  
"Oh yes," she raised her face, looking at him, " 'Izumi's Mistake', they call it. As if they could do any different. I was alone, InuYasha, and your parents were the light in the darkness to me. And they fell....and I could do nothing but stand by and watch. You must hate me."  
"I don't hate you," he said said quickly, hands moving in useless gestures. His face hardened slightly, "Though I'm not fond of your 'Lady', Izumi."  
"I understand..."  
"No you don't....." he said, and shifted uncomfortably for a second. He wasn't good with words, and spoke clumsily, "I....what I'm doing...I mean, the whole war thing, and the Shadelings, and...."  
She watched him in silence as he fumbled around.  
"I'm not doing this for her."  
Izumi looked alarmed, "InuYasha-"  
"No. I'm not doing this for _her_, understand? I'm doing it because what Keimetsu's doing is wrong, and I hate the Shadelings for what they've done to me and my friends. I'm doing this for my own reasons, got it?"  
Izumi studied him in silence, and then nodded. He didn't understand, but his very intense insistance that he was doing it because it was the right thing to do was inspired by Amaterasu. She was a Goddess of good and light. And like it or not, know it or not....he was a good person inside.  
"And I'm doing this for you."  
Izumi blinked, startled, "What?"  
InuYasha squirmed, "I'm doing this for _you_, because _you_ want it done, not for her."  
"InuYasha-"  
_"You were her friend, _Izumi. I saw what you were to her. You _wanted_ to do what was right for her. You wanted to do what was right for _me_ because you loved _her_. That....that's enough for me," he finished lamely.  
Izumi smiled through her tears, and reaching out, lightly touched his hand. She saw how he looekd uneasy, and suddenly laughed.  
"Don't worry. I'm not going to hug you, dear one."  
InuYasha blushed slightly, but grinned at himself, and allowed her to take his hand for a second, accepting as she gave it a slight squeeze.  
In another world, in another time maybe, he would have been calling her "Oba," "Aunt."  
Letting go of her hand, he settled back, and spoke more calmly, "Tell me about her, Izumi. Please?"  
Izumi nodded, setting back herself, and began to speak, her gentle voice soothing him, and granting him more understanding of the one person who had meant the very most to him throughout all his life, but had been unable to know her as a real person.  
They spoke together, sharing memories of the one person who's love they shared, talking until the sun went down and the fireflies came out, lighting the air with their silent flashes.

END


End file.
